Portrait of an Officer

Portrait of an Officer represents the numerous military portraits Beechey painted throughout his career. The wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France created enormous demand for portraits of officers, both for families and for institutional collections. Beechey, knighted in 1798 and portrait painter to Queen Charlotte, executed the work with his characteristic solid, dependable oil technique that documented Georgian society's ruling classes with honest directness.

The officer's uniform and military bearing are rendered with professional competence, the face characterized with the naturalistic directness of Beechey's portrait style.